Mike Elrington Bio

With his blistering guitar playing, soulful, gut-wrenching vocals and innovative songwriting, twenty-eight year old Mike Elrington is quickly showing promise as one of the most exciting young performers in Australia today.

Whether working with his three-piece electric band or as an acoustic solo act, Mike's original mix of driving Blues/Rock/Pop and Acoustic Folk/Rock delivers with raw passion and dynamite in every performance.

After winning his High School Battle of the Bands competition in 1999, Mike started his career in Adelaide and was a regular performer at the city's premier live music venue - The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. Gigs at the Gov included many various supports for local and interstate touring blues/roots acts.

During his time spent performing at the Gov, Mike performed on a regular basis with Australian blues legend Chris Finnen from whom he also received personal guitar tuition.

In January 2000, Mike relocated to Melbourne where before too long he was playing a wide range of venues throughout Melbourne and country Victoria. These included The Esplanade Hotel, The Palais in Hepburn Springs, The Armadale Hotel, The Rainbow Hotel, The Cornish Arms and The Hard Rock Café - just to name a few.

In September 2000 Mike traveled to Narooma (NSW) for The Great Southern International Blues Festival where he performed as a guest artist on one of the three festival stages. His performance was reviewed as one which "Blew the joint apart!" by festival reviewer Mark "Radar" Watson.

As the founder and lead guitarist of "The Hustlers", 2001 saw Mike deliver knockout performances in a wide range of venues in Melbourne and country Victoria including The Ferntree Gully Hotel, Micawber Park Tavern, The Saloon Bar, The De La Ville Hotel (Geelong), Sturt Street Blues Club (Ballarat) and The Snowbird Inn (Mt. Hotham) where The Hustlers played three consecutive shows to a packed house to open the 2001 ski season.

2001 also saw The Hustlers release their debut CD - "Live in a Dead Room" which sold well locally and received extensive airplay on blues shows all over the country.

Whilst in Melbourne Mike has also been fortunate enough to share the stage with the likes of Phil Para, Ex-Sherbet member Harvey James, Jerome Smith (Ex-Divinyls, The Rolling Stones, Billy Thorpe) and internationally renowned blues artists such as Lloyd Spiegel, Geoff Achison & Pete Cornelius.
In March 2003, Mike completed his first interstate tour in Tasmania where he performed statewide on ABC radio and was received exceptionally well by a crowd of over 1000 people at The Forth Valley Blues Festival.

In March 2004, Mike was asked back again to headline The Forth Valley Blues Festival in front of a crowd of over 1500 people.
During a brief stay in Launceston, Tasmania in 2004, Mike and his band made regular appearances at an extensive range of venues across the state including The Republic Bar, Launceston Casino, Ben Lomond Ski Resort, Launceston Unibar and The Royal Oak Hotel, where he and Pete Cornelius & The Devilles performed the inaugural "Young Guns" Blues night to a sell-out crowd of Blues/Roots followers.

Mike's first solo release - "Too Good to be True" (Produced by Peter "Reggie" Bowman - Ex-Southern Sons, Tommy Emmanuel, James Reyne) is an exceptionally well-crafted mix of Blues/Rock/Pop with a modern contemporary edge. It also features the outstanding vocal talents of rising star Mia Dyson on the title track.

Since its release, "Too Good to be True" has received rave reviews, extensive amounts of airplay on Blues/Roots radio shows all over Australia and last year the track "Better Days" made the top ten finalists in the blues category of the national MusicOz Awards.

Mike has toured extensively throughout Australia for the last two years promoting his album and delivering knock-out live shows in venues all over the country. He is constantly touring all over Australia spreading the good word and building his growing fan base.

In March 2005, Mike completed his first tour of the United States where he headlined a sold-out show at Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco (Twice voted No.1 Blues Club in America by the W/C. Handy Foundation) and was also fortunate enough to perform at a wide range of venues all over the country including The 930 Blues Café in Jackson, Mississippi and Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago - where he performed live on stage with Shirley King (Daughter of Blues Legend BB King).

With his creative efforts now fully focused on a solo career, Mike is now based in Melbourne to further pursue his vision of taking his own blend of Blues/Rock/Roots based music into the new Millennium.

With interstate tours constantly booked, album no.2 on the way and plans to travel to the USA again in 2010, expect big things to come from this exceptionally passionate and gifted young artist.



"Blistering guitar playing that would make Clapton proud" Forte Magazine, Geelong, Australia

"One of the most exciting acts to come out of Australia in many years!" Ed Ivey, Blues Revue Magazine, San Francisco, USA